CURRICULUM II—CULVERHOUSE SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY

Program in Accountancy

Students should consult the Culverhouse School of Accountancy website at http://www.cba.ua.edu/accounting for a current description of admission and program requirements.

The School of Accountancy was established in July 1978 as an academic unit of the College of Commerce and Business Administration. The School was named in honor of Hugh F. Culverhouse Sr., in February 1989. Mr. Culverhouse was an alumnus of The University of Alabama, a noted lawyer and businessman, and a major supporter of the accountancy program. The Culverhouse School of Accountancy is a charter member of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. The School holds accounting accreditation at both the undergraduate and graduate levels from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.

A primary objective of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy is to maintain high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs that attract top students and prepare them for professional careers in public accounting, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations. To achieve these objectives, the School maintains a highly qualified faculty possessing the academic credentials, professional experience, and significant scholarly accomplishments necessary for them to prepare students for professional careers. Teaching effectiveness and research productivity are emphasized. The computer is integrated throughout the accounting curriculum. Emphasis is placed on the need for accountants to be competent in business and to possess excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Efforts are made to ensure that students have an understanding of the professional and ethical responsibilities of accountants.

Graduate programs. In addition to the bachelor of science degree, the Culverhouse School of Accountancy offers two professional master's degrees, the master of accountancy (M.Acc.) and the master of tax accounting (M.T.A.), and a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree with a concentration in accounting.

Admission and retention policies. A prospective Culverhouse School of Accountancy student must submit an application that demonstrates that all criteria for admission have been met. Students are eligible for admission if they (1) meet the criteria for admission to the upper division of the College of Commerce and Business Administration (see p. 125). A student whose grade point average falls below these standards may petition the director of the Culverhouse School of Accountancy for admission to the upper division and Culverhouse Scholl of Accountancy if the student's grade point average for the last 30 hours attempted is 2.5 or higher.

Students who have not been admitted to the School may enroll in upper-division accounting courses offered for nonmajors. A student who has not been admitted may also enroll in 300-level accounting courses offered for accounting majors, provided that he or she has fulfilled the prerequisites for those courses and either meets the criteria for admission to the Culverhouse School of Accountancy or must take those courses as part of the major or minor. Only students who have been admitted to the Culverhouse School of Accountancy may enroll in 400-level accounting courses without special permission of the director.

Accounting majors must complete all 300-level accounting courses with grades of "C-" or better. A student who enrolls in any of these courses twice and fails to make a grade of "C-" or better will not be permitted to take additional accounting courses without special permission. Enrollment is defined as registration for a course resulting in the recording of hours attempted on the student's record. Priority for enrollment in upper-division accounting courses is given to students who are not repeating the courses.

Humanities and fine arts. Twelve semester hours consisting of at least 3 hours of literature1 and at least 3 hours in the arts. The remaining 6 hours are to be chosen from the humanities, literature, and/or fine arts.

History and social and behavioral sciences. Twelve semester hours with at least 3 hours in history1 and at least 6 hours chosen from among other disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences. EC 110 and EC 111 required above satisfy 6 hours of this requirement.

1Each student must complete a 6-semester-hour sequence either in literature or in history.

Foreign language/computer language. Two semesters of one foreign language designated FL, or two semesters of C-designated computer language courses. This requirement is satisfied by AC 389 (C) and AC 489 (C), each a required accounting major program course.

Applicants for admission to the Culverhouse School of Accountancy must have completed at least 61 semester hours prior to admission to the School. The 61 hours should be chosen from courses listed above and must include degree credit for EC 110 and EC 111; MATH 112 and MATH 121, or MATH 115 and MATH 125; EN 101 and EN 102; CS 102; AC 210; ST 260; and LGS 200 (or their equivalents); and at least 4 hours of natural science, 3 hours of fine arts, literature, or humanities, and 3 hours of history or social and behavioral sciences. In addition, the student must have an overall grade point average of 2.5 or higher for all college-level coursework attempted and must have a grade point average of 2.5 or higher for all University of Alabama coursework attempted, in order to be admitted. Failure to earn degree credit for these specific courses and to earn at least 61 semester hours in all with the required grade point average may result in ineligibility for admission to the Culverhouse School of Accountancy and ineligibility for enrollment in 300- and 400-level accounting courses.

(GBA 145, which is highly recommended for students who enter the College as freshmen, and AC 492 must be counted here)

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Total for B.S. degree: 124 hours

PROGRAMS FOR SENIORS WHO WILL TAKE THE ALABAMA CPA EXAM

As of 1995, students wishing to sit for the CPA examination in Alabama must have completed 150 semester hours of college courses. To meet this requirement, students in the Culverhouse School of Accountancy must be admitted to either the master of accountancy or master of tax accounting programs. Students should apply for admission to one of these graduate programs during the first semester of the senior year.

The master of accountancy (M.Acc.) degree program is a fifth-year professional program. Its objective is to provide students with greater breadth and depth of understanding of accounting and business than is possible in an undergraduate program. The program prepares students for careers as professional accountants in financial institutions, government, industry, nonprofit organizations, and public practice. Graduates are prepared to research various data bases related to troublesome business problems and to exercise judgment in making accounting decisions by drawing on their integrated and comprehensive body of accounting knowledge. A complete description of the master of accountancy degree program and its admission requirements is available from the Culverhouse School of Accountancy and in the University of Alabama graduate catalog.

The master of tax accounting (M.T.A.) degree program is a multidimensional approach to the education of the modern tax specialist. The program develops (a) an understanding of the taxation system and of the interrelationships between that system and accounting theory; (b) a basic knowledge of the legal system as it relates to taxation; and (c) the basic tools necessary for research and communication in taxation. Graduates are prepared to research various tax, legal, and accounting data bases related to troublesome tax problems and to exercise judgment in making tax-related decisions by drawing on their integrated and comprehensive knowledge of accounting and taxation. A complete description of the master of tax accounting degree program and its admission requirements is available from the Culverhouse School of Accountancy and in the University of Alabama graduate catalog.